Tow Dr Philip George and Margaret
| Type of person | Family |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1932 |
| Date of death | 2016 |
Please <click here> to watch Philip Tow's memorial video.
Philip was a member of the:
Adelaide Plains Male Voice Choir,
Gawler Heartbeat,
Gawler Uniting Church Choir,
Roseworthy College,
University of New England - Armidale NSW,
Jordan Australia farming project,
Frontier Services,
and various Garden Clubs.
Philip George Tow - Born 1932 Boonah, Queensland; Died 2016 Gawler, South Australia
Throughout his life Philip Tow maintained a strong Christian belief and he lived his life according to these principles.
Gradually, over the years, he came to realise that he preferred living in the country over living in suburbia. These feelings began when he was a little child. Being born amid rural surroundings (in 1932) the peace and beauty of the Boonah area was to instil in him (albeit subconsciously at first) a feeling of happiness.
A daughter Nancy was born in 1936 and Philip enjoyed the arrival of a baby sister. Philip’s father worked in the family department store Humphries and Tow, in Boonah, but he left the family business at the end of 1936, and the family moved to Bundaberg in time for the start of the 1937 School Year – the year that Philip began school.
The family moved again, after a year, to Brisbane, where they stayed briefly with relatives, who showered them with love and happy times, but Philip found changing schools distressing. A move to a house in Graceville – a suburb of Brisbane, seemed to auger the end of moving around. Another son – David was born in 1940. However the war intervened in their plans. Worry about the possible bombing of Brisbane by Japanese planes caused many people to pack up and move inland to towns like Warwick and Stanthorpe. The Tow family moved to Warwick for the first 6 months of 1942, after which, the danger of bombing seeming to be over for the time being, most of the families who had evacuated moved back to the towns they had left.
The next hurdle the family had to face was the illness of Mrs. Tow who had to go to hospital to have a kidney removed. The two boys were sent to stay with an aunt and uncle who lived in Petrie, another pleasant country town. They had a cow and a large vegetable garden and the Pine River was nearby which was a lovely place to play and have a swim. Nancy was sent to stay with relatives in Ipswich.
At the end of 1942 the family finally settled in Ashgrove a suburb of Brisbane. Mr Tow worked in the army pay office for the duration of the war. Beginning life in Boonah and then living for short periods in Bundaberg, Warwick and Petrie, were enough to give him a love of the country (as opposed to city suburban living) and probably influenced his final decision to choose agriculture as a career. As Mrs Tow was one of eleven girls Philip and his siblings had the advantage of a childhood of interaction with many Aunts and Uncles and cousins, and the Tows enjoyed wonderful holidays with these relatives at Southport and Surfers Paradise. Family visits and large family gatherings consolidated the love and friendship between all the families.
The Sunday School Superintendent of the Ashgrove Presbyterian Church, Mr. McComb, was also the Headmaster of the Ashgrove State School, and it was due to him that Philip, Nancy and David attended the Presbyterian Church. As they got older Philip and Nancy sang in the Church choir and Philip continued singing in choirs for the rest of his life. After passing the scholarship exam Philip enrolled at the Brisbane State High School where he would study for the Junior and Senior exams prior to going to University. At State High School he enjoyed cricket and tennis and the School Cadet Corps, in which he rose to the rank of Cadet Lieutenant.
In 1948, while on a School Cadet Camp at Enoggera (or Wacol?) Philip complained of great pain and was not believed by the Officer in Charge. A whole day in the sick bay went by before it was discovered his appendix had burst and he had peritonitis. He nearly died, his life being saved by Penicillin, which had only recently been discovered. Philip, Nancy and David maintained a strong and loving relationship, and Philip and Nancy had common interests in piano lessons, singing in choirs and membership of the Presbyterian Youth Fellowship Association (PFA). He always regretted that he had to move to North Queensland to work when David was only 15 years old.
After passing the Senior exam (end of Grade 7) he was offered a scholarship from the Queensland Forestry Department. However he turned it down and instead chose a cadetship in the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock. This involved a part time study for a Science Degree over five years and annual movement around Department Branches and Research Centres for experience. This experience did not include the Agronomy Branch, yet after graduation he chose Agronomy as the direction he wanted to go. His final year degree subjects of Botany and Soil Science helped this. But he was at a disadvantage in not coming from a farm or studying Agronomy at University. Yet the inter-relationships between plants, soil, climate and people, and country life in general attracted him. University extra-curricular life also interested him, although participation was restricted by his part time status. He was able to be involved fairly fully in the University Musical (Choral) Society and the Student Christian Movement. These experiences had a lasting, beneficial effect on him.
Philip’s career in agriculture, as an employee, spanned virtually 50 years (1950 – 1999). On graduation he was transferred to the Kairi Research Station on the Atherton Tableland. The train journey north was interrupted by a cyclone which kept him in Bowen for a week. Head Office then told him to move on. As the Burdekin River bridge was still covered with water, ‘moving on’ meant crossing the wide, fast-running river with much luggage, in a small open boat. A completely new life began for him when he was transferred to North Queensland. In Atherton he was active in the Presbyterian Church (choir, Sunday School and Youth Leader and Elder), in the Atherton Players, the Atherton Choral Society and the Junior Choral Society (conductor).
In Atherton he met Marijke Micola von Furstenrecht, who, with her family had migrated from Holland. They married on the 15th October 1960. Their son Edward was born on 19th November 1962.
Philip took long service leave from May 1963 and the three of them went to Holland. There Philip obtained a scholarship to work at the Institute for Biological and Chemical Research in Field Crops and Herbage in Wageningen. He worked under Drs. Th Alberda and C.J.de Wit, and they published the results of their research. Marijke and Philip and Edward returned to Atherton towards the end of 1964. Their daughter Marianne was born on 18th April 1966.
Dissatisfaction with leadership in his work place at Kairi and professional isolation caused Philip to seek opportunities for further studies. In 1967 he gained a Teaching Fellowship in the Dept. of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England, Armidale. Tensions developed in the marriage and Marijke and the children returned to North Queensland while he was completing his project. He graduated as PhD in 1975. His persistent efforts to gain employment back in Queensland failed. Eventually he looked elsewhere and gained a position as Lecturer in Agronomy at Roseworthy Agricultural College from March 1977. His family were unwilling to join him in South Australia and Marijke eventually divorced him.
In 1983 Philip met Margaret Lorraine Wormold, a widow living in Gawler. They married on the 15th December 1983.
In 1984 he was offered the position of Research Agronomist in the Jordan/Australia Dry Farming Project. This was a major scheme the aim of which was to bring the knowledge and technology of South Australian farming systems to the Middle East. It entailed a comprehensive program of field research, extension to farmers, training of counterparts and scholarships to Jordanians for post graduate study. The ultimate aim was to improve the farming systems of the Middle East. Philip and Margaret spent three years with this Project, based in Amman, Jordan (August 1985 – August 1988). Philip worked with the Ministry of Agriculture on their Research Stations, and at the University of Jordan. He and Margaret made many friends, both Jordanian and expatriate, and had many interesting experiences of life in the Middle East.
On returning home from Jordan, Philip and Margaret developed a new house and garden on 2 ha of land at Gawler. Gawler’s climate allowed them to develop magnificent rose gardens and to grow Australian natives, plants from the Mediterranean, tropical and temperate regions. Philip continued the work of teaching, research, post-graduate supervision and writing, as Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy Campus.
He retired from work in October 1999, but continued writing. This and activities with families, Church and voluntary organisations kept him and Margaret busy and fulfilled. In later years, looking back on his life, Philip said “For almost all my life, I have been on the journey of Christian faith. In spite of some difficulties and disappointments throughout my life, my faith has been strengthened by my experience of God’s goodness and love. During my years as a university student, the interdenominational and international Student Christian Movement, through its fellowship, conferences and other activities had a tremendous positive effect on my understanding of the Christian message and my growth in maturity in the faith. The international Church in Amman, Jordan also had a very positive effect. Now my wife Margaret and I give each other mutual support and encouragement as we travel the journey of faith together.”
Memories of Tow Dr Philip George and Margaret
Do you remember Tow Dr Philip George and Margaret ? Then Join up and add your memory here.
Support our sponsors!
